A reconsidering notice has been passed by the Belgian government to fleeing Nigerians to reconsider relocating from their home country as today’s Europe including Belgium is no longer the ‘land of milk and honey’.
This address was made by the Director-General of the Belgian Office for Foreigners, Mr. Freddy Roosemont during a press conference in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Friday.
Roosemont insisted that Nigeria has the highest number of migrants in Belgium facing harsh conditions, with many falling victim to forced prostitution after failed or false promises of job opportunities.
“The dream is not real; it’s not easy to survive in Europe without a decent job. The dream is fake.
“Belgium is not the land of milk and honey, nor is Europe. This was not the case before, but is even less so now, in a world with many crisis hotspots with severe economic consequences.” He said.
Roosemont also expressed concern about the increasing number of Nigerians seeking asylum in Belgium, with many rejected Nigerians forced to live undocumented and lacking social safety nets.
Roosemont further noted that no fewer than 362 Nigerian migrants sought asylum in 2022 while 380 of them applied in 2023, adding that only a few of them got their application granted.
He said “Asylum is determined on the basis of the Geneva Convention and economic motives are not included.
“Therefore the recognition rate for asylum is very low and the chances of obtaining a residence permit are almost non-existent.”
“As a consequence, people are forced to live in irregular stay, without a social safety net, in precarious conditions. They risk economic exploitation and women risk ending up in prostitution.”
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